


Jorvik

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F, since they've really only just met, the relationship is more in the crushy stage when this takes place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 10:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19060402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Lisa joins Louisa for a little ride out ponying Trouble.





	Jorvik

For the first few weeks, Lisa didn’t want to leave Jorvik Stables or her room at the manor. And that was fine, perfectly understandable. Being in nature might be one of her favourite pastimes, but after she’d been captured… well, things had changed. Louisa worried, sometimes, that her newfound friend might have developed a touch of agoraphobia. But she never broached the topic, not wanting to upset Lisa. She was doing so well in her recovery, after all.

But today, Louisa had no choice but to leave the girl that she’d come to regard so fondly. Most of her horses could be exercised in the arena or given to friends so that they could exercise them while Louisa stayed at Jorvik Stables with Lisa. This horse, though… well, Louisa didn’t want anyone else to have to deal with Trouble. The little foal that she’d found up in the mountains near the winery had grown up fast, though he was still too young to be ridden. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t be exercised, though. And he needed it, too, he was starting to annoy the other horses here. Viktor, Louisa’s best friend, hadn’t been too happy when Trouble had upended Phantom’s water trough somehow.

Now, as Louisa approached the paddock where Trouble had been turned out for the morning, she shifted the halter that was slung around her arm.

“Alright, Trouble,” Louisa called. “You got your wish. We’re going out. But don’t try anything funny.” Trouble picked his head up and gave a little whinny, giving her his best ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ look. Louisa wasn’t falling for that again, though.

Thankfully, Trouble allowed the halter to be slung over his head so that he could be led and, later, ponied. All of that halter training had paid off, clearly. And, yes, Trouble could (and had) been given many lessons in leading in a paddock, but he was restless and Louisa was hoping that getting him to burn off some of that energy would make him too tired to get up to mischief once they got home.

Just as Louisa had clipped the lead rope to Trouble’s halter and begun to lead him over to where Goldmist stood waiting outside the stables, though, the clatter of familiar hoofbeats made Louisa grin.

“Lisa,” said Louisa, grinning at the sight of the Texan riding into the stableyard. Lisa pulled Starshine to a gentle halt before dismounting.

“Hey,” said Lisa, her own smile radiant. “Oh, you’re taking the little guy out for a ride?”

“A walk, really,” said Louisa. “I’m hoping that the trip will tire him out so he’s not too much of a little brat when we get home.” Lisa laughed, the sound making Louisa’s heart trip in her chest. Trouble, feeling Louisa’s grip slacken, chose the moment to try to run away. The lead rope slipped easily out of Louisa’s hand as Trouble made a break for the stable entrance, the lead trailing behind him in the dirt.

“I’ll get him,” said Lisa, grinning as she ran after the naughty little foal. “Trouble, get back here!”

“Distracted by a pretty face?” Goldmist teased. Louisa blushed, brushing her hair out of her face.

Thankfully, Louisa had composed herself by the time Lisa returned with Trouble in tow.

“Thank you,” said Louisa, taking the lead rope from her and noticing that their hands brushed as she did. “How far did he get?”

“I think he was trying to convince the Sunfield hens to escape again,” said Lisa. Louisa groaned.

“Trouble, I’m getting sick of catching them and putting them back,” said Louisa. “I’ve got half a mind to build the Sunfields a new chicken coop myself.”

“Well, don’t suggest it within earshot,” said Lisa with a laugh. “Knowing Jorvik, he’d get you to build a new coop for him.”

“I’m waiting for that request, to be honest,” said Louisa. “But at least the Sunfields pay well. Unlike the Goldspurs.”

“I have met clams that are less tight than Jakob Goldspur’s wallet,” said Lisa. Louisa laughed, feeling something building in the air between them.

“I hope you don’t mind that we can’t really hang out today,” said Louisa, hoping that she wasn’t about to pour cold water on whatever was growing between them.

“Huh?” Lisa asked. “Why can’t we hang out? If anything, it’d be better to have another pair of hands just in case this idiot tries something. Which he probably will, knowing him.”

“Are you sure?” Louisa asked, her heart still thumping. “It’s just that, well, I know you’ve been a bit uncomfortable going out anywhere after what happened so I just thought…”

“I don’t mind if I’m with you,” said Lisa. “I dunno, I just feel… safe around you. Is that weird? I feel like it’s weird. Sorry, I probably put my foot in it again. Forget I said anything. But yes, I’m sure I want to ride with you. I’m babbling, I’m sorry.” Louisa laughed, though not unkindly.

“As long as you’re sure,” said Louisa. “Then I guess we’re going… somewhere.”

“You didn’t have a plan in mind for where to go?” Lisa asked.

“No,” said Louisa, shaking her head. “Jorvik is still so new to me. I’ve only lived here about a year, and…”

“I’d be more than happy to show you around,” said Lisa. Louisa looked at her.

“Really?” Louisa asked. “You don’t mind?” Being with Lisa still felt so much like she was on unfamiliar ground. She’d never really taken charge in anything before, but now, Lisa seemed to want her to. And maybe working on her self-confidence would be a good thing…

“Not at all,” said Lisa. “I’ve never really given a tour of Jorvik before but how hard can it be? If nothing else, we both have maps apps on our phones and there are signposts so we shouldn’t get too lost. Pity I can’t show you some of my favourite sights, though.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere you’re not comfortable with,” said Louisa. Lisa smiled at her again, which Louisa found herself returning.

“Thanks,” said Lisa. “Alright, let’s go before the brat thinks up an escape plan.”

“Might already be a bit late for that,” said Louisa as she laid the lead rope across Goldie’s neck and easily swung herself up into the saddle, making sure not to accidentally kick Trouble in the face. That would be rather counterproductive.

Once she was seated, Louisa picked up the lead rope.

“Alright, Trouble, please just make this easy,” said Louisa.

“The roads around Mistfall and Firgrove would be pretty good for ponying,” said Lisa. “And the Hollow Woods, maybe the manor. Just not around Fort Pinta, obviously, since the driver of that purple car likes to be a nuisance.”

“I don’t want Trouble learning any tricks from Lynx, either,” said Louisa. And a part of her wanted this to just be a quiet ride with just the two of them.

“Soo, Mist?” Lisa asked. Louisa nodded.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Louisa. “Or Firgrove to start with, maybe.”

“We can just go cross-country or back down the road to Mistfall from there,” said Lisa. Louisa nodded.

“My thoughts exactly,” said Louisa. “Let’s go.”

The two set out from Jorvik Stables, Lisa on Starshine on one side of Louisa and Trouble obediently walking along on the other side. He seemed very excited, lifting his head up to see every little thing and getting distracted by every little butterfly.

“He’s a cutie,” said Lisa, smiling as Trouble tried to follow a butterfly. 

“Looks can be deceiving,” said Louisa, tugging Trouble back to Goldie’s side gently. “I thought he was so sweet and helpless when I first found him but I’m starting to think that he fell into that ravine of his own volition.”

“Well, this is Jorvik,” said Lisa. “Don’t worry, Linda and I had to get used to that too. In Jorvik, and especially if you’re a Soul Rider, a horse is never just a horse.”

“In both the mundane and the amazing senses of that phrase,” said Louisa, nodding. “Maybe that’s why I feel so at home here. Or maybe that’s just a Soul Rider thing.”

“I didn’t feel at home here for the longest time,” said Lisa, looking off into the distance wistfully as they turned to ride around Jarlaheim. Louisa didn’t trust Trouble in the city, not yet. “I hated it, honestly. I didn’t want to be here, I wanted to be back at home where my mom…” She trailed off and Louisa rested a gentle hand on the crook of Lisa’s arm.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” said Louisa.

“Thanks,” said Lisa. “But I do wonder what it’s like for someone coming to Jorvik when they first came here. Is it everything you thought it would be?”

“Well, it’s definitely not the summer camp that I signed up for,” said Louisa. “It stopped being that when I fell off Goldie and suddenly healed my ankle.”

“What’s it like for you, anyway?” Lisa asked. “I’ve wondered ever since I first met you but I never really got up the courage to ask.”

“I just put my hands to something and think about it being better and then it gets better,” said Louisa. “And there’s like a pink glow. Of course, the druids taught me to visualise the wound knitting back together so now it seems to take less time and less pain, but it’s just always been like that. Is it the same for you?”

“No,” said Lisa, shaking her head. “I heal with a song. It just comes into my head and as I lay my hands to the injury, I sing and it gets healed. And then I usually turn that song into an actual song.”

“Wow,” said Louisa with a laugh. “If only everyone knew that their favourite music comes from a place of healing.”

“Some do say that my songs have a healing quality about them,” said Lisa. “They have no idea. None at all.”

“Did it only start happening when you got to Jorvik too?” Louisa asked. Lisa nodded.

“Jorvik brings out the magic in those who have it,” said Lisa. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to come here and just have everything be normal. I don’t even know what normal feels like anymore. And at first, I hated that I got my healing powers when I got here and not when I really could have used them, you know?” Tears glimmered in her eyes but she wiped them away. “Sorry. You probably wanted a nice trail ride with a friend and here I am, on the verge of tears.”

“I get it,” said Louisa. “Really. But let’s talk about nicer things. Happier things. What’s your favourite thing about Jorvik?”

“The horses,” said Lisa immediately. “I mean, come on. An island full of horses that can talk if you only listen, where magic is everywhere, where there’s an entire religion dedicated to horses. That’s just every horse kid’s dream, isn’t it?”

“Growing up, my aunt would tell me so many stories about this mythical island of horses called Jorvik,” said Louisa. “It sounded too good to be true. But then, in class one day, I looked it up. And it just blew my tiny mind. And then I got detention for being on the class computers and not doing any schoolwork.” Lisa laughed.

“I can’t imagine a nice girl like you getting detention,” said Lisa. “Really, you’re niceness personified.”

“Thanks,” said Louisa, blushing and feeling suddenly shy. “Of course, after that, I learned my lesson and started writing stories about this magical place full of talking horses and the Soul Riders that guarded the island. I never expected to end up here, though. I actually forgot all about it when I started high school.”

“And then?” Lisa prompted.

“And then I graduated and my aunt reminded me about Jorvik,” said Louisa, skipping over most of what had happened. She didn’t want to dampen the mood, nor did she want to distract herself when Trouble was already acting fractious. “The rest is history.”

“And now here you are, living out your childhood dream,” said Lisa, looking at Louisa with a fondness in her eyes that the other woman didn’t see thanks to keeping an eye on the foal at her side.

“Yeah,” said Louisa, looking back at her. “I love it. Rebellious foals and all.”

“Me too,” said Lisa. “The place grows on you, I’ll give it that.”

They didn’t take Trouble all the way to Firgrove that day, only out to the Epona gates and back. The foal was tired by the time they returned, mercifully, and curled up to sleep in the shade cast by the old riding hall at Jorvik Stables. That left Lisa and Louisa to spend the day doing whatever they pleased. Including reliving Louisa’s old, terribly-written stories about Jorvik that she’d written on school computers so long ago.


End file.
